Conventionally, as a scanner that is image reading apparatus of this type, there has been a scanner that is capable of reading two types of original: a transparent original such as a film and a reflecting original such as a photograph and a magazine.
In this type of scanner, a transparent original reading unit (Film Adapter Unit: hereinafter referred to as FAU) having a light source for reading a transparent original such as a film is attached to the upper part of a scanner for reading a reflecting original, whereby it is enabled to read both a reflecting original and a transparent original.
In an image reading apparatus of this FAU mounted type requires a specific control that is not performed in an image reading apparatus that reads a reflecting original only such as requiring an exclusive light source lighting control for lighting a light source according to a type of scanning.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a conventional scanner that is capable of reading a transparent original and a reflecting original. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 41 denotes a scanner main body and 42 denotes an FAU.
The FAU 42 is provided with a surface light emitting section 43 consisting of an expansion plate and a light source (not shown) such as a fluorescent lamp to be disposed in the vicinity of the expansion plate and a light source driving circuit section 44, and is rotatably connected to the scanner main body 41 by a high section 45.
The scanner main body 41 is provided with an electric circuit section 46 having an AD converter, an ASIC for image processing, an interface circuit and the like, an image reading unit 47 having a reflecting light source, a mirror, a lens and an image pick-up element such as three line CCD of RGB, a transparent platen glass 48 on which an original is mounted and a start button 49.
A two-dimensional image can be read by repeating reading in a main scanning direction by an image pick-up element while moving the image reading unit 47 in a sub-scanning direction (in the figure, an arrow X direction) when an original image on the original stand glass 48 is read in both a transparent original and a reflecting original.
An output of the image pick-up element of the image reading unit 47 is sent to the electric circuit section 46 via a not-shown cable, is subject to necessary processing such as AD conversion, shading correction and masking and is sent to an external apparatus such as a not-shown personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) via a predetermined interface as digital image data.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-116408, a scanner is described in which the light source driving circuit section 44 for reading a transparent original in a scanner of this FAU 42 mounting type is disposed between the surface light emitting section 43 and the hinge section 45 and the center of gravity of the FAU 42 is moved to the vicinity of the hinge section 45, whereby the FAU 42 is allowed to rotate easily.
In addition, one of scanners in recent years is a scanner of a type in which a start button 49 for enabling start-up of an application and scan start is provided in the above-mentioned scanner main body 41. The scanner of this type has better operability than a scanner of a type that enables start-up of an application and scan start only by operation from a conventional scanner driver on a PC because it can share operation with a PC.
However, since the light source driving circuit section 44 for reading a transparent original is disposed between the surface light emitting section 43 and the hinge section 45 in the case of the conventional art as described above, the surface light emitting section 43 separates from the hinge section 45 by any means. Consequently, a sub-scan direction of the FAU 42 becomes inevitably long and is hard to be miniaturized.
In addition, in the case in which a waiting position of the image reading unit 47 is on the hinge section 45 side, the distance from the waiting position to the surface light emitting section 43 tends to be long due to the structure in which the surface light emitting section 43 is placed apart from the hinge section 45. Consequently, since a transparent original is arranged below the surface light emitting section 43 where it can receive light at the time of reading the transparent original, the image reading unit 47 has to be moved to below the surface light emitting section 43, when a moving distance of the image reading unit 47 is long. Thus, the image reading unit 47 takes time to move at the time of starting a transparent original and a total reading time at the time of reading the transparent original becomes long.
In addition, in the conventional scanner of the FAU42 mounting type, since the start button 49 is only provided in the scanner main body 41, a reading mode has to be set in advance in a reading mode of either a transparent original or a reflecting original in an application such as a scanner driver on a PC side. Consequently, if a desire reading mode and a set reading mode are different, it is necessary to change setting, which is inconvenience in operation.
In addition, in an image reading apparatus relative positions of a sensor for reading an image and a light source such as a lamp are modified between the case in which a so-called reflecting original such as ordinary printed matter is read and the case in which a transparent original such as a negative or positive film of a photograph.
At the same time, due to differences of an image reading sequence and a parameter, image reading software on a host PC to be used is that with different programs for a reflecting original and a transparent original in many cases or, even if identical software is used, that with different image reading sequences and various parameters is often used. Thus, image reading software on the host PC is generally designated and switched by a user according to a type of an original that is an object to be read.
In addition, although there is a scanner having a function of starting up image reading software on a host PC by pressing an image reading start button provided on an image reading apparatus recently, a transparent original unit is optional in many cases, and most of image reading start buttons on the image reading apparatus are for a reflecting original that are frequently used.
That is, in the conventional art, if a transparent original unit is optionally set in reading a transparent original, a user has to set the transparent original unit on an image reading apparatus main body, and then retrieve image reading software on a transparent original placed on a host PC to execute it and commence work for actually reading the transparent original.
Further, even if a transparent original reading unit is incorporated in an image reading apparatus as a standard, since the image reading button does not correspond to a transparent original, work similar to the above has to be performed after setting a transparent original on a transparent platen for a transparent original, which is low in work efficiency and extremely inconvenient.